Meanwhile, Aaron was in the kitchen working on a stuffed pepper recipe he told me last night he wanted to try (he had woken up earlier than me and was knocking things off his list for one of the operating businesses while I was still fast asleep in the comfort of bed). I didn’t bother to look at the recipe because one thing I’ve learned: If it catches his interest, it’s probably going to turn out to be incredible. Yep.

The bell peppers were crammed with a mouthwatering mixture of white rice, olive oil, roasted onions, ground beef, garlic, diced tomatoes, Monterey Jack cheese, black pepper, and fresh parsley. Each pepper ended up coming in at a cost of around $4 and 700 calories. (This was a trial batch of four stuffed peppers so he only bought a single pound of hamburger. Were you making more, and buying in bulk, your cost per unit would significantly decline due to economies of scale.) They were substantial, too. We’re both around 6′ tall and these things filled us up like personal meatloaf servings. You don’t need much else with it, though it should have a side to provide a contrast, making you re-appreciate how good each bite tastes (suggestions for sides are welcome – we haven’t been able to figure out one that fits perfectly, yet).

We need to make these for our family immediately. This stuffed peppers recipe went straight into the permanent family recipe box; something we’ll be making for the rest of our lives. The photograph doesn’t do it justice at all – they glistened like a food advertisement. And the scent filling the house … it was like being in a restaurant. Go make them. If you like beef and cheese, you’ll probably be crazy about it.

The recipe came from America’s Test Kitchen, which is one of the only paid subscriptions I recommend without reservation. It costs pocket change each month and includes everything from the final recipe database to reviews of kitchen equipment. They treat food like a science, experimenting with stuff such as temperature retention and construction order to achieve whatever it is they want to achieve; culinary arts for chemists, in a sense. The result is an instruction sheet that can be reproduced each and every time. This stuffed pepper recipe was no exception. I know several of you have access to the site (I’d repost the recipe itself but I don’t have the copyright so you’ll have to try and get it from the source). They are so delicious, it’s worth subscribing for a month solely to grab the file off the site.

It’s always odd to try and fit your life story into a few lines but here is the short version: My name is Joshua Kennon. I’m 36 years old. My husband, Aaron, and I met and fell in love as teenagers. Neither of us ever even dated anyone else – we knew we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. After graduating from high school, we moved from the Midwest to the East Coast where we studied classical music and a wide range of liberal arts.

Later, we returned to the Kansas City area to be near family. During this period, which spanned nearly thirteen years and lasted from our early twenties into our mid-thirties, we started several Internet companies and spent much of our time semi-retired, managing our own wealth thanks to the financial independence those businesses helped us achieve. I also wrote a lot during those years. In fact, the odds are good that you’ve directly or indirectly encountered me many times without realizing it. For nearly 17 years, I was the Investing for Beginners Expert at what was then known as About.com. I am the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Investing, 3rd Edition.

These days, we spend our time running and growing the firm, as we plan on it being the institution through which we pass on our own family’s wealth to our future children and grandchildren. The experience, particularly meeting such incredible people, has been one of the most rewarding of our lives. It’s a rare thing to have a career that allows you to not only do what you love for a living, but to do it with people you admire, respect, and like. We feel like two of the most blessed guys in the world.

This personal blog is a place where I talk about some of the things that interest me – cooking, finance, entrepreneurship, politics, history, economics. I’m really proud of the community we’ve built, in no small part because the typical reader around here is exceptional. Please note that in preparation of the launch of the asset management business, and to better protect our family’s privacy, Aaron and I removed thousands of articles, posts, and comments from this blog, reducing it to a fraction of its former size. This means if you are looking for something that existed prior to us coming out of retirement, the odds are good it simply isn’t available anymore.

Important Information and Disclaimers

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION: This is a personal blog intended for academic, educational, and social engagement among members of a like-minded community. Nothing on this site is intended or should be construed as investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, or legal advice. You are solely responsible for your own financial decisions, agree that you will seek the advice of your own qualified professional advisors, agree that you, and you alone, are solely responsible for any financial consequences or losses as a result of your actions, and use of the site constitutes your agreement that you will not rely upon any information found on the site, including the comments. All text, images, and resources are provided on an “as is” basis with no guarantee of accuracy and with no obligation to update or correct information. For more information, read the terms and conditions. Copyright Joshua Kennon. All Rights Reserved.